Analyzing Spatiotemporal Daily Travel Source Carbon Emissions Based on Taxi Trajectory Data

Analyzing the spatial-temporal distribution of travel carbon emissions will help government departments to develop effective policies and strategies for carbon emission management. This research proposes a trajectory-based analysis method to identify sources of high travel carbon emissions and the relationship between car use and travel carbon emissions. The vehicle-specific power model (VSP), which considers the effect of the vehicle operating speed on emissions, was used to estimate emissions from the travel origin to the destination. The research area was divided into grids according to the population distribution, and the grid carbon emissions (GCE) and grid average carbon emissions (GACE) were calculated. This article used several spatial measurement models to investigate the spatial-temporal trend and influencing factors of travel emissions. A case study using one month of Ningbo taxi data showed the following. 1) The concentration of emission sources was significantly reduced during the evening peak, but the proportion of the contribution was relatively high. 2) Many areas in the suburbs had a high proportion of high emitters throughout the day and not only during the commuting period. 3) Population density and car use ratio were used to explain the quantitative relationship between car use and travel emission sources. This study can guide travel carbon emission monitoring and local carbon emission reduction strategies.